Most voters continue to believe immigration policy should focus first on border control. At the same time, they favor a welcoming immigration policy that excludes criminals and other threats to society.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 60% of Likely Voters believe it is more important to gain control of the border than to legalize the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States. Thirty-four percent (34%) believe legalizing the status of undocumented workers is more important. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

These findings are generally consistent with surveys back to July 2006.

Sixty percent (60%) of voters favor a welcoming immigration policy designed to keep out only national security threats, criminals and those who come here to live off America's welfare system. Twenty-five percent (25%) disagree with this kind of immigration policy, while 15% are undecided. These findings, too, are consistent with results found since 2006.

The survey of 1,000 Likely U.S. Voters was conducted on November 13-14, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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